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Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

Jackets return to hardcourt this week

ATLANTA — The offseason was mostly kind to Paul Hewitt.

In the time since his Georgia Tech players walked off the Georgia Dome floor at the end of a magical ACC tournament run that came up short in March, the head coach has completed a laundry list of items that might make any other coach jealous.

He landed one of college basketball’s top recruiting classes to beef up the roster. He retained one of the ACC’s top returning players when forward Gani Lawal backed out of the NBA draft. He even witnessed the first steps to the dramatic comeback of a veteran who was sidelined all last year with a congenital disease.

Indeed, the past seven months have been a coach’s dream.

But three weeks ago, that bubble cracked slightly, as Hewitt received some of the worst news about his team that he had heard in a long time: His point guard was hurt in a car accident.

On Sept. 26, Maurice Miller, the 6-foot-2 guard who averaged 5.8 points and 4.3 assists per game last year, suffered a concussion during an accident.

“We’re a little concerned about him,” Hewitt said Tuesday.

While Hewitt had no specifics of where or how the accident took place, he confirmed that it was Miller’s third concussion in the past 12 months.

“He’s feeling better, but I don’t think he will practice this weekend. I don’t anticipate it,” Hewitt said, citing his team’s first official preseason practices that begin Friday at the newly built Zelnack practice facility. “If he does return, fine, but he’s (still) suffering effects from another concussion.”

Miller mostly has been kept out of individual workouts since the accident but participated in a limited role in similar brief activities Monday.

“He got into workouts (Monday) but just came out of it still feeling a little light-headed. A little ‘off-balance’ was the term that he used,” Hewitt said.

Miller suffered two concussions after colliding with a defender against Mercer in November and breaking his nose against Illinois-Chicago the following month. Upon his return Jan. 10, he was forced to wear a mask to avoid the risk of injuring his nose and head any further.

While the Yellow Jackets expect Miller back by the start of the season next month, increased depth should help allow him to make his return as slow as possible.

As part of its recruiting class, Georgia Tech welcomes former metro-Atlanta prep star Mfon Udofia to its backcourt, along with the son of a former NBA star in Glen Rice Jr.

“Mfon, he’s the energizer bunny; the dude never stops,” senior forward Zachery Peacock said.

The Yellow Jackets also will get help from sophomores Iman Shumpert and Nick Foreman. In Miller’s absence last year, Shumpert was the Yellow Jackets’ featured player when they needed a clutch shot late. Foreman was a walk-on whose minutes proved invaluable down the stretch.

Along with Udofia and Rice Jr., the Yellow Jackets welcome in the nation’s most sought after recruit in Derrick Favors. The former South Atlanta star averaged 28.1 points and 13.3 rebounds as a high school senior last year.

In the workouts he has seen, Hewitt said he has been very impressed with Favors.

“The thing I like about Derrick is that he’s not a big guy trying to impress you with his perimeter skills,” Hewitt said. “He would like to dominate the paint area before he steps out. That’s how he approaches each game.”

Favors and Lawal won’t be the only players posting up in the paint. With added backcourt depth, Peacock — who played one of the wings last year — will have more opportunities in the post.

In his place, D’Andre Bell, a veteran who missed all of last year with a condition known as spinal stenosis, is set to play guard or forward.

Bell could have the conference’s comeback story of the year with his return. Hewitt said Bell has gotten off to a strong start in the individual exercises he has participated in but is slowly working his way back to full conditioning speed and strength.

“He’s really making a lot of strides,” Hewitt said. “As I assured him, I said, ‘Look, you were out there for eight months and now you’re getting back.’”

The Yellow Jackets get back on the court for an exhibition Nov. 8 against Indiana (Pa.). After a three-day tipoff tournament in Puerto Rico a week-and-a-half later, they return to Alexander Memorial Coliseum to host Mercer on Nov. 27.